


The Miller Holiday Party

by realfakedoors



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Holiday Fic Exchange, Secret Santa, steven is cute but also sort of a mess, tiny bit of angst tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 08:54:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13232340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realfakedoors/pseuds/realfakedoors
Summary: Connie is introduced to Uncle Andy at a Holiday Party, hosted by your local postal worker. Typical hijinks and hilarity ensues.





	1. The Set-Up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheMarkovProperty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMarkovProperty/gifts).



Frosted windows and warm white lights enveloped a simple home built into a not-so-simple cliffside, carved into a marvel of masonry that was a giant,  _ giant _ woman. Within, a boy and his father sat on the couch in near-silence.

Well, to say the boy “sat” might be generous. Steven Universe was lying on his stomach, feet kicked up in the air with his head propped up on his elbows. He was drinking in his father’s every nod, hanging on his every word.

A quiet muttering spoke into Greg Universe’s ear, and a look of surprise spread across his face.

“Oh, well, really? … _ Really _ ? I guess... Wow. What a coincidence! Well, yeah, okay.” He spoke into his cell phone, and Steven watched the creases on the man’s forehead multiply.

“Well, that’s great. I mean it! Okay, yeah, well… yeah, see you tonight, Andy.”

Tell-tale stars sprang to Steven’s eyes when his father sent him a quick wink and a nod.

Silently so as not to interrupt, both of his arms shot into the air in his excitement, and without the support of his hands, his face dropped forward into the cushions. 

Slightly muffled, Steven said “Yes! And hi! Tell him hi!”

With one hand covering the bottom of his phone, Greg whispered to him in a rush. “ _ You’llseehimtonightdoyoureallyneedto-- _ ”

Steven wasn’t really listening, too excited for his own good. Pulling himself to a more  _ civilified  _ sitting position, he yanked his father’s arm down and yelled at the phone. “HI, UNCLE ANDY! IT’S STEVEN. I’M REALLY GLAD YOU’RE COMING TONIGHT! SEE YOU LATER!”

A slightly distorted chuckle came out of the receiver, which Greg moved back to his ear.

“Steven says ‘hi,’ if you didn’t get that. But yeah, see you later. Steven will be showing up early, to help set up?” He posed it more as a question to his son rather than his cousin on the line, and Steven nodded with fierce determination.

“Yeah. So, Steven will see you first. I’ll show up around normal time with his, our… uh, family. The Gems.” Greg’s voice had lost a bit of its confidence. There was some muted response on the other side of the phone, and the conversation quickly wrapped up thereafter.

Steven was pacing the living room by the time his father hung up, his muscles aching for animated release.

“This is perfect! I’ve been wanting to introduce Connie to Uncle Andy since last year, but the timing was never right. What better time than at a party? I can’t believe he was so willing to go on such short notice, should I call Sadie, or maybe I should tell Connie to… wait, did he need directions? How is he going to get to the party! Oh man, we’ve got to call him back, Dad, quick! He needs to be there, I really want -- ” Steven’s voice bounced from enthusiasm to worried to panicked and back to excited in a matter of seconds. Greg watched his son go through the motions like he was watching an intense tennis match, the boy’s feelings being volleyed across the living room.

“Whoa, whoa, Steven. Relax. Just let Uncle Andy do his own thing, and when you get a good moment tonight, you can introduce him to Connie. Don’t overthink it, bud.” He patted the seat next to him on the couch, beckoning his son to sit.

After a deep breath, Steven nodded with a firm “hmm!” and returned to his father’s side.

Pushing himself back against the cushions, Steven began to nod slowly. “Okay, yeah, you’re right. But I don’t want to be rude, and there aren’t a ton of people going... Maybe I should just text Sadie to let her mom know to expect one more?”

He had to physically bite his tongue to keep from spilling forth a hundred other thoughts, clearly thrilled for his first  _ true  _ holiday party.

In year’s past, the Gems and his dad would get together and exchange presents and have hot chocolate and exchange stories, but those had always been strictly family affairs. It would be a stretch to call any of those gatherings a “party,” though they did sometimes have an explosion or two.

Now, the more his personal life bled into his professional world-saving-Crystal-Gem life, the lines became less clear where friendship ended and family began. For starters, it wouldn’t feel right to celebrate such a special time of year without Connie by his side, but she wasn’t family like the Gems or his dad. And he couldn’t just let Peridot freeze in the barn with Pumpkin, especially now that Lapis had gone. Then there was his Uncle Andy, and Steven loved to spend time with him whenever the opportunity presented itself, but… those opportunities were few and far between.

When Sadie first told Steven of her mom’s holiday party, she insisted the invitation was extended to his whole family - Gems included - and that Barb was definitely a  _ more  _ and  _ merrier _ type around the holidays. (To be fair, Sadie also said her mom was  _ always _ a more and merrier type, regardless of the time of year.)

Steven couldn’t RSVP fast enough.

So tonight, there would be a party, featuring his family and friends, the warmth of sweaters and the nip of frost in the air. There would be food and festivities and friendship and family, all of which this town needed more than ever.

“Uh, Steven? You still with me?” His father was waving a hand in front of his face, snapping him back to the present. Steven had been cupping his cheek with one hand, completely spaced out.

“Hmm? Oh, sorry, Dad. Just thinking about the party… so, if I’m remembering right, the guest list is supposed to include Sadie and her mom, obviously, you, me, the Gems plus Peridot, Connie, and Sour Cream, Vidalia, and Onion are a ‘maybe’, and now Uncle Andy, and… Is that it? Why do I... -  _ oh. _ ” Steven stopped speaking abruptly, and the hand that rested against his face fell.

A particular family had been invited and would not be attending tonight.. A pressure had settled somewhere in his chest, and it inflated whenever he thought about it too much. Sometimes, it grew from pinpricks of discomfort to full blown panic.

It was guilt. Lots and lots of guilt.

The Barrigas were not going to the party tonight, and their son would not be attending  _ any  _ party anytime soon, unless it featured five very kind (but very strange) off-color gems, separated from his family by galaxies.

It came as no surprise that Mr. and Mrs. Barriga were not feeling particularly festive, so they respectfully declined the invitation, but it stung all the same.

Greg knew his son well and spotted the change in him immediately - the slumped shoulders, the need to look away, the sudden sadness in his eyes.

“Hey, kiddo,” Greg said, placing a hand against Steven’s head and tousling his hair. “Don’t worry about him too much. He’s a strong, good kid. I know things aren’t moving as fast as anyone wanted, but the important thing is you, him, and the… uh, off-colors? That you all are safe. You have to do things one day at a time, right?”

Steven turned to his father, still quiet, but thankful for his encouragement. Greg wrapped his arms around his son and held him a little tighter than normal.

When Greg pulled away, he gave Steven a signature Dad grin and finger-gun. “Besides, we can throw an extra  _ cool  _ party once you guys get him back.” 

Steven laughed gratefully and gave his Dad another hug, only to split apart with a gasp when a familiar, strangely melodic  _ shiiing _ filled the living room.

Bright blue and mystical energy flooded the modest house, giving everything an unnatural but mesmerizing shimmer, but only for a moment. In place of the light appeared three of the most powerful beings on the planet. Their capacity for destruction was rather subdued, however, by the chunky and cozy looking sweaters Steven had picked out for each of them.

As light as snow, Pearl stepped off the pad first in the direction of the one-and-a-half humans.

“Steven! Hello, Greg. Sorry we’re - S- _ Steven _ !” She was cut short when the boy leapt from the couch (literally, launched himself and floated into her midsection) and engulfed her in a tight hug.

Amethyst slinked forward, throwing the bags she was carrying at Steven’s father as he stood to greet the Gems.

“Whaddup, Gregory? You pumped for tonight?” She gave Steven a playful shove as he released Pearl and landed on his feet.

Untangling himself from his plastic attackers, Greg sighed and stood sheepishly. Garnet had picked Steven up like a doll and was holding him under one arm like a child.

“Hey, guys. How’d it go? Get everything on the list?”

“Oh, yes,” Pearl tittered over towards Amethyst’s forgotten bags and shot the purple gem a rueful look. When her only response was a raspberry blown her way, Pearl huffed and forced a smile towards Steven.

“It was rather nice of you to agree to help them decorate. Are you sure you don’t want us to come?” 

Before he could answer, Amethyst shapeshifted herself into a familiar, muscular facade that looked an awful lot like a popular, retired wrestler. The Purple Puma looked particularly strange with a sweater stretched across their bulging muscles.

Abducting Steven from the fusion’s grasp, Amethyst placed him atop her shoulders, much to his amusement. Some  _ whooa’ _ s and giggles followed.

“Yeah, Steve-o. It might be awko-taco if it’s just you and Barb. And it’ll be downright  _ boring _ if it’s you, Barb and P.”

A purple version of Pearl then appeared after a quick flash of magic. She cradled Steven lovingly, cosseting him by nuzzling a cheek with her pointer finger. “Isn’t that right my widdle Stevie-Weanie?”

Pearl spun on her heel with murder in her eyes, and Greg began to carefully back towards the door.

“Enough,” Garnet interrupted with a hand raised. Two Pearls and a Steven froze, looking at the face of a magenta gemstone they knew to be Sapphire embedded in the fusion’s palm.

“Steven can go on his own. He’ll have plenty to talk about without us.” She gave him a small smile, which he returned with a toothier version of his own.

Pearl released a totally voluntary breath through her nostrils with her eyes closed before turning back to the bags and began pulling out crinkly tinsel and a delicate arrangement of larger than life snowflakes that each had a hook resting along the bottom.

“Wazzthat?” Steven said, moving closer to the white gem and grabbing at the corner of her large pink and white sweater, embroidered with diamonds and snowflakes in a festive pattern.

Pearl frowned and lifted a pair of snowflakes up to examine them under better lighting. “To be honest, I don’t know. It was just one the list. This is another one of your, uh, human things. Greg?”

They all turned their attention to the man in question, who suddenly looked very guilty.

“They ain’t nothing!” He yelled, conspicuously telling them all that they certainly  _ were _ something.

Steven gasped and began to practically jump up and down. “Oh oh oh whatisitwhatisitwhatisitwhatisit?! Is it something important? What do we do with them?” He picked one up in his hands and examined it, looking for a compartment or button that would reveal the mystery hidden within. Glancing towards the kitchen, Steven noted that Amethyst and Garnet had already begun to put away the groceries, the latter having to constantly stop the former from consuming them inappropriately. Neither of them were paying attention, so he couldn’t shake them for information.

Greg chuckled and moved next to Steven, rustling his hair a second time. “No can do, kid. You’ll just have to wait and see. This is for something Andy and I used to do growing up, I think you’ll really like it. But it’s got to be a…  _ surprise. _ ” He lingered on the last word and turned towards the kitchen, eyes narrowed at Garnet. There was one person who could, quite literally, never be taken by surprise.

With a knowing smirk, Garnet crossed her arms. “A surprise? I love surprises. I guess we will have to  _ wait  _ and see.”

Steven groaned and sunk to the ground, resting his face into the side of the couch. “Noooooo… now that’s all I’m going to be able to think about until I know. C’mon,  _ please _ , tell me!”

Pearl had begun to organize all of the materials by size and color, and she chimed in absently. “Well, you  _ could  _ start thinking about getting ready. The party is less than four hours from now,  _ and  _ you have to be there early. Hmm… isn’t Connie coming tonight?”

And just like that, Steven completely forgot about the mysterious hooked snowflakes.


	2. Reunion

The next two hours went by in a rush. Steven showered, fixed his hair a little too much, brushed his teeth, and got dressed. He went for his favorite light blue and yellow sweater during the cold months, but he decided to wear the pink shirt Connie had given him for his birthday underneath. Pearl was agreeable to the suggestion, chiming in something about layers and catching a cold.

Steven lifted his backpack and was surprised by the weight, but he slung it over his shoulder all the same.

“Now, Steven,” Pearl said as she adjusted his collar that peeked up above the sweater, trying to make it lay just right. They were standing next to the door that led to the beach, while Garnet and Amethyst worked on the food. It was hard to leave, because Garnet had made some really delicious smelling cookies.

“Remember, each section has different things that were requested for us to bring. The largest has the snowflake-hooks since there were so many, then the tablecloth and utensils, then tinsel, candles, and candy canes in the smallest. Got it? Maybe I should help you get there, it’s cold and the walk is…”

“I’ll be  _ fine _ , Pearl. But thank you. Sadie’s mom will really appreciate the help.” Steven held out his arms for a hug, which made the white gem smile. She knelt and accepted, holding his half-human self gently.

“And,” he continued as he pulled back and adjusted his coat. “You guys said you would go with my Dad to get Connie, so you  _ have  _ to stay so you can go pick her up. I’ll see you when the party starts, okay?”

He turned to the door and his fingers lingered above the handle. Over his shoulder, he looked to see Pearl was biting her lip but trying to smile, Garnet’s hands were covered in oven mitts and she waved, and Amethyst struck a pose, leaning into the counter as if she were about to faint.

“Until six thirty,” she said with dramatic emphasis. Jamie would have been proud.

“‘Bye,” Steven responded, bracing himself for the bitter wind and icy steps.

Business was always slow in Beach City during the winter months, and things were especially quiet now. It was only five in the evening, but for the stillness that settled over the little ocean town, one might have mistaken it for midnight.

The walk was serene and pretty in an oddly delicate kind of way, Steven observed, like if he crunched too loudly through the snow the peace might all break apart. Between the chill of the season and  the northeastern snow, beachgoers had kept away and the boardwalk was mostly deserted. There was a certain tranquility that settled over the passive shops and empty roads in the months without their tourist-driven economy that Steven rather enjoyed. Some homes and business had dustings of frost patched to windows, while others were adorned with twinkling strings of lights, and others still were  accented wreaths of pine and poinsettias.

Steven could probably count the amount of times he had seen the town like this on one hand; it was slightly surreal, but even more invigorating.

Summer was still his favorite time of year, but moments like these were special, existing in a small window of time with snow and absence, so Steven did his best to absorb as much he could while he walked.

By the time Sadie’s house was in sight, Steven’s fingers had started to tingle with numbness. The trek had taken longer than expected; the weight of the backpack wasn’t heavy or cumbersome, but it did upset his balance. Paired with the poorly maintained sidewalks, Steven walked slowly and deliberately through the town so as not to fall. Only one car passed him from the time he rounded the Big Donut.

Even with his growing chill, Steven felt the need to pause before he reached the Miller house. He stood at the gate of Lars’ home, studying the curvature and arches and valleys of the carpentry that constructed the modest home. A warm orange glow from within lined the windows like stained glass on the ground floor, and there was one faint light on the second floor.

From his brief stint within Lars’ body, Steven knew it to be the teen’s room, but he also knew that it was empty. They never turned the light off after the incident. Lar’s had left the light on when he left that night with his ube roll, and they never turned the light off afterwards. It made sense, in a way, to want him to be the one to eventually flip the switch.

Pearl, on the other hand, had thought that was sort of silly from the explanation he and Amethyst had provided, but Garnet weighed in a moment later.

“We all do unusual things to help us grieve. Human, gem, or in-between.”

Steven remembered her voice sounding strange. Pearl had remained quiet after that.

The memory frustrated him, because grieving was the wrong word, because that implied things that Steven did not want to accept.

A catch of wind sent some snow swirling into his face, rousing him from his thoughtful silence. He watched his breath turn to vapor as he released a sigh and turned towards the Miller house.

Rapping a gloved hand agains the front door, Steven noted the odd sensation of his cold fingers, still sensitive despite the numbness.

A large-and-in-charge presence appeared a moment later “Hey, hey! It’s Greg’s boy! C’mon in. Just in time, I could use an extra pair of hands.” Barb Miller beamed, a mad twinkle in her eye that he remembered from last Beach-a-Palooza. He had to admire the woman; she was arguably the only person as enthusiastic as he was about most things.

Steven grinned and said hello while kicking off the snow on his boots. When he looked up, he saw Sadie coming around the corner and she looked tired but happy. Both mom and daughter were wearing red knit sweaters, the elder’s had reindeer stitched to the front and Sadie’s was accented with a intricate snowflake pattern.

“Wow, great sweaters!” Steven said as he started to take off his backpack.

Sadie managed not to roll her eyes. “Oh yes, they’re  _ great _ .”

“Hey! Easy on that sarcasm young lady. It’s a holiday not a holi- _ nay _ ,” her mother replied smartly.

This time, Sadie couldn’t repress the earlier impulse, and Steven giggled slightly.

“So, how can I help? It looks great in here, by the way,” he lifted a hand and gestured towards the impressive decorations. The living room opened to the kitchen, warming the house with spiced air. Both rooms had been decked-out with holiday themed things - little fat men in red jumpsuits, a small nativity scene featuring a family of penguins, some quirky looking elves that were a little creepy, strings of lights illuminating and candles incensing the home with every festive theme imaginable.

If the assault to the senses had been in any other house, Steven might have thought it too much (which is saying something, because this is Steven  _ Universe _ we’re talking about here), but there was only one word that came to mind.

“It’s already perfect,” he said while nodding approvingly. Each display he passed, Steven admired with great harrumph before moving on.

Barb placed a hand on each hip and paced around the room, brows together. “I gotta say, kid, I would agree with you. But there’s three important things we’re missing, and  _ then _ it’ll be perfect. Oh, can ya guess what they are?”

Sadie was standing the middle of the room with her hands buried in the pockets of her jeans, a frown on her face.

“Mom, let’s not make him guess. Steven, it’s -- ”

“Ahh-ahh-ahh!” The girl’s mother interrupted, wagging a finger her way. Sadie huffed in annoyance and smacked a hand over her face.

“Sorry, Steven…” she grumbled, loud enough so only he could hear.

He looked between the two, a little confused, but didn’t know what to say. They both seemed a little sharper  towards one another, but then again, Steven couldn’t forget about the giant pink elephant on Homeworld, so maybe they were both just stressed.

“Ooooookay,” Steven eventually said when the two refused to speak. “So three things are missing? Well… oh,  _ oh  _ well there’s the decorations  _ I _ brought, duh.” He stopped his examination of the nearest hostile-looking elf and returned to his cheeseburger backpack, forgotten with his shoes by the door.

Barb clicked her tongue and held up one finger; Sadie clicked her tongue and looked away.

Steven looked back and forth between the two for a moment, becoming increasingly uncomfortable with whatever was going on, but he figured it best to just push past it for now.

“Annnd… there’s food, decorations… um, I’m not sure? Maybe, uh,” he rubbed his chin, but all three of them jumped at a loud banging coming through the wall parallel to the entrance.

“What was  _ that _ ?” Steven pursed his lips, watching the way Barb’s eyes lit up and Sadie sunk down into the couch.

The woman replied to the knocker rather than to boy, halfway through the dining room to get the back door. “ _ Just a sec! _ ”

Sadie patted the seat next to her when the door could be heard opening, some muffled voices coming through the wall. “It’s my mom’s  _ date _ .”

Accepting the invitation to sit, Steven hopped backwards and gasped excitedly, making up enough enthusiasm for the both of them. “Oh, that’s exciting! I didn’t know your Mom had a boyfriend!”

“It’s new.” It was a curt reply. Steven stopped bouncing and decided to use this moment to confront his friend’s sour mood.

“Aw, c’mon Sadie. It’s going to be a party. Don’t let your mom’s boyfriend or… uh, the bad weather spoil your mood. I promise I’ll help make it fun. Focus on the paarr-tayyy!” He wiggled his arms like toy snakes, trying to get a laugh.

The girl looked at him wryly, but managed a smirk followed by a small exhale. “...Okay, fine. I’ll try to have fun. But  _ you _ have to have fun too. Focus on the ‘par-tay’.”

“...that’s right, not so bad. And then… oh,” Barb’s voice could be heard, matched in response to a distinctively male voice.

Steven and Sadie looked at the doorway from the dining room, waiting for the pair to appear, one enthralled and the other bemused-at-best.

“And, well - remind me later. Hey, Steven! There he is!” Uncle Andy came in first, walking straight into the living room with familiarity. He did not stop to gawk at the ornaments or the divine smells of candles and food that wafted through the house - he made a beeline for the sofa and picked up his nephew straight into the air and gave him a fierce hug.

Steven accepted the hug, but he was thoroughly confused. “W-wait, but I thought, didn’t...you...”

“ _ Oh. _ ” A long pause followed, and Uncle Andy extended Steven to arm’s length and looked at him with some concern.

“Steven? You okay, buddy?”

The boy blinked furiously, trying to refocus his attention, and with rush of words he practically leapt from Andy’s grasp.

“ _ SincewhenareyoudatingSadie’smom?Ohmygodthisissoweird,butgoodweird,likepizzawithitaliandressingbecauseitshouldn’tbegoodbutitis. Howdidthishappenandwhydidn’tIknowsooneranddoesDadknowandohmy-- ” _

“G-geez, kid,  _ breathe _ . Relax. One question per inhale. I thought your Dad told you?”

Sadie was leaning her head back into the cushions, staring at the ceiling, wondering how likely it would be for an earthquake to happen and for the party to be canceled.

Steven’s eyes were full of stars, and he was practically shaking from excitement as he looked between his Uncle and Sadie’s mom, the latter of whom moved next to the man and laid a kiss on his cheek.

“C’mon boys, you can have reunion time during the party. I actually  _ do  _ need the help, so let’s get moving.”


	3. Shoenapping and Introductions

By the time Sadie’s Mom had given out her marching orders (men on the rest of the decorations, Sadie to set the table, and for her to finish cooking), Steven and Uncle Andy had already started to catch up on what had happened since they had last seen each other. In truth, Steven mostly listened and asked questions whenever he could - how did he and Barb meet, when did they get together, was he always planning on showing up to the party, or was it really a spur-of-the moment thing? - and he only offered vague responses when it came his time to share. He hadn’t thought to ask his Dad earlier if he told Andy about Homeworld, so he provided, at best, a broad strokes retelling of the day leading up to Homeworld and what happened after he got back. If his uncle had any questions or concerns, he didn’t voice them, mostly nodding along.

(Now, to be fair, Steven also realized that there was the matter of what Sadie told her Mom, and, by extension, what  _ she  _ might have told Andy, but he couldn’t really be expected to be accountable for that.)

After Steven finished his story, they were quiet for a little while, setting up things around the living room and occasionally popping over into the dining room. 

Eventually, Andy cleared his throat and called Steven over to him.

“So, do’ya know what these are? Or did your Dad move on from that tradition too?” The man held up two of the mysterious snowflakes, about the size of Steven’s palm, and handed one to his nephew.

Steven shook his head while he took the decorative hook. “Well, he said it was something you guys did when you were kids around this time of year. But we never really celebrate the holidays like this with the Gems, so…”

After a low sigh, the man lifted Steven up to a wooden stool they had been using to hang tinsel. Standing on it, he was about head-level with his uncle, and they were both positioned in front of the mantle.

“Okay, well, this is a  _ DeMayo  _ lesson for you, kid. These,” he held up one of the snowflakes and placed it firmly against the mantle, the weight of the metal keeping it upright. It was just up against the ledge, so the hook hung over the side, and Steven followed suit with his own.

“Are snowflakes. Aunt Deb always called the whole game a ‘secret snowflake’, which is where the all these things come into play, but they’re not really the important part. The important part is...”

Steven watched, curiosity thoroughly piqued, as his Uncle scooped down into a bag that the Millers provided with tiny red stockings, lined with white faux fur trim.

“Oooh I love socks!” Steven grabbed one greedily and made a sock puppet out of it, chomping the mouth of his creation by flexing his fingers..

His uncle facepalmed. “Er, no, kid. The important thing are the  _ stockings _ , which you put here.” 

He took the red felt off Steven’s hand and hung it above the mantle so it dangled by the hook of the snowflake.

“Oh, okay. So what do we do with them?”

Andy handed him another, and they began to hang up all of the snowflakes-and-stockings as he continued his explanation.

“So, the game is, each person who is here will put their name in a stocking, along with three things about them. So for me, I would write down  _ Andy DeMayo _ , and I could say, uh, I dunno, I like flying, engines, and classic movies.”

Steven nodded seriously, wondering how he could possibly limit the things he liked to three.

“Then, when all of us have written things down, we mix up all the stockings and hang them up again. One by one we pick a stocking so you eventually end up with someone else. Once all of us do that, we - and this is where things get goofy - we pile into cars and  _ leave _ .”

Steven blinked a few times, replaying the sentence in his head to make sure he heard right. “Wait, that doesn’t sound like fun. Why do we all have to leave?”

Andy bit his tongue, trying to decide if he should finish the explanation or wait until everyone shows up - he or Greg will have to re-explain it all anyways. He had shared the idea with Barb, and she was all about it, but wanted to surprise the kids.

After a brief pause, he shrugged and turned away. “You’ll just have to wait and see! It’ll be worth it though, I promise.”

Steven groaned and leapt from the stool once all of the snowflakes had been hung - there was just enough for everyone invited, but didn’t have much time to bug his uncle further before the guests began to arrive.

Sour Cream, Onion and Vidalia showed up first, and Steven was glad to see them. He and Sour Cream chatted briefly about how his music was going, but at some point Steven realized all of the shoes had disappeared and sought out a particular cutpurse child in exasperation.

Onion, of course, had only one thing to say on the matter.

“Mamama, mama mamamama, mamama.”

With Sadie’s help, they managed to find all of the shoes in the upstairs bathroom, neatly organized inside the tub.

“I like Sour Cream and all, but his brother kind of weirds me out. Lars, too.” Sadie said as they collected the remainder of the shoes and shut off the light.

Steven was standing at the top of the stairs waiting, a tiny pang in his stomach when she said his name. “Y-Yeah, Onion is… I’m not sure what exactly he is, to be honest.”

When they rejoined the others in the living room, there was another knock at the door, followed by several voices.

“--mythst, that’s considered to be  _ rude _ , really, just wa-- ”

“But it’s freakin’ cold, P, and that’s coming from a literal  _ rock _ ,”

“Please stop arguing, someone might hear us…”

“I, for one, think the doorbell would have been the more appropriate option. Earth has  _ customs _ , you know.”

“I really think we should all just be quiet, maybe knock again...”

Barb was making her way towards the door when it was flung open, a small purple foot suspended in the air.

Both Greg and Pearl were rubbing their eyes in frustration, but Amethyst bounded through the open door with absolute glee. “ _ Whaddup _ , it’s my homegirl  _ Vidaliaaa _ !” She hopped over to her former partner-in-crime and wrapped her in a hug. Peridot followed her with a little less pep than she normally might have, but seemed happy to meet Amethyst’s longtime friend.

“Any friend of Amethyst is a friend of mine. Name’s Vidalia, the boys are mine. Sour Cream, and this little guy,” she scooped up her youngest son as he tried to bolt between various legs. “Is Onion.” The woman grinned Peridot kindly with a crinkly smile.

The green gem blinked several times, looking between the family. She offered her a hand stiffly. “Nice to... meet you. I, uh, grow some of you at my barn, but only the red, white, and yellow variety. Do you all turn out like… um, this?”

The rest of the conversation was lost to him, as he was too busy watching the rest of his idiosyncratic family make their way into the house. Steven determined he needed to empty his arms of the kidnapped shoes, so his first stop was to stop by the coat closet and then he would help with introductions. He made it about three feet before he promptly spilled them all over the carpet. 

Once Garnet had moved towards the kitchen with a teetering pile of food, Steven spotted Connie shyly huddled next to the door. Pearl was busy trying to reattach the unhinged door with Andy’s help, so Connie was trying to stay out of their way without really knowing where else to go. There were some obvious nerves, Steven noted, as she continuously adjusted her short hair, tucking pieces behind her ears as greetings and pleasantries were exchanged. He was pretty sure Garnet and Sadie were both trying to get his attention, but he was too surprised at how… how… 

She was wearing a tartan plaid sweater of white and black with a long red skirt, and her hair was slightly pinned back by shiny black clips. She appeared to be very interested in the pattern of the carpet, eyes glued to the floor, but after a moment her head flicked up. Scanning the room, her eyes lit up, and Steven nearly gasped when they met his own.

“H-hi,” he breathed, a little too far away and far too quiet for her to hear.

She smiled at him and repeated the same greeting, though her words too were lost, whispers balking against a flurry of noise and activity. Still, somehow, the moment was important, like each syllable went out to find the other that was spoken over, sneaking around ankles and leaping over socks to have a private moment to themselves.

Sadie had already left his side and put all the shoes down, then guided him by the shoulders to Pearl who now trying to get his attention.

“Steven,” she said, picking him up naturally. “Did you get too cold on the walk over? I tried to call you to make sure you made it okay but you didn’t pick up. What happened? I was worried. Garnet said you would be fine, but, still…”

He realized Pearl was examining him like a doctor, searching for bumps and bruises around any part of exposed skin. The impulse to laugh bubbled at his lips, and he was soon giggling at Pearl’s needless but kind concerns.

“I’m sorry, Pearl. I left my phone in my backpack and we’ve basically been setting up the whole time since. I told you I’d be fine!” He hugged her anyways, knowing that her worries came from a place of caring. After Homeworld, she was even  _ more  _ protective of everything he did… if that was possible.

She set him down after the hug and smiled, but made her voice stern. “Please just pay more attention to your phone if you’re out alone. I like to be able to get in touch with you in case, well, you know.”

He nodded and opened his mouth to reassure her, but Garnet popped up suddenly and was insistent that she needed Pearl in the kitchen immediately.

Then, just like that, everyone had begun to settle and disburse and mingle, and he breathed a deep inhale of satisfaction, and… someone was standing next to him?

“Hi, Steven. You guys did a great job with the decorations.” Connie beamed in his direction, looking around the room, admiring the dazzling array of lights and shapes to match the season.

Steven smacked his lips together like a fish. Had his mouth been this dry all night? Was his mouth  _ always _ this dry? Why did it feel so hot in here?

“Steven?” Connie repeated his name when he continued to open and close his mouth with no words.

He shook his head and blurted out the first thing that came to mind “You look really pretty tonight.” They met eyes again, but this time with  _ much _ more embarrassment.

“I-I didn’t mean that!, you don’t, er, well, you  _ do _ like nice, but I, we, -  _ I’llgogetussomedrinks? _ ” He turned towards the kitchen and was about to make a break for it, but calloused hands grabbed his wrist and he squeaked.

Connie tried to make her voice comforting. “Whoa, Steven. Are you okay? I-I um, thanks. For the compliment.” She lowered her grip of his wrist, and her fingers slid down to hold his fingers. There was a faint redness along her cheeks.

“I do want a drink, yeah. Why don’t we get it together? I think I could use a break from Amethyst for a minute. She didn’t stop talking the whole ride over.” Connie nodded her head towards the couch and loveseat, where the purple gem had shapeshifted into what could only be a reindeer and Sour Cream was hanging glowsticks from her antlers.

Somehow his nerves melted when he felt her fingers give his own a little squeeze, so he led her into the kitchen and explained with great detail every single decoration he could find.

With a soda and water in tow, the pair returned to the living room, still abuzz with activity. Andy and Greg were standing behind the couch, chatting about something and pointing at the stockings along the mantle. Along the couch, Vidalia, Sour Cream, Amethyst and Peridot were sitting exchanging some sort of hilarious story. Pearl insisted she help Barb prepare dinner in the kitchen, and Garnet leaned against a wall observing the comfortable scene.

Steven’s heart filled with warmth as they entered with Connie by his side. She was laughing at the debacle that was Peridot falling off the couch in laughter, and they naturally moved over to Garnet since she was alone.

“Hiya Garnet.” Steven said as they looked up at her, taking a sip from his soda.

They were met with a kind smile. “Hello, Steven. The decorations look great.”

He rubbed his nose bashfully. “I just helped hang stuff up. You and Sadie’s mom supplied all the stuff, so you’re the ones who should get the credit!”

Connie tapped her chin. “Oh yeah, I meant to ask when I came in. What’s with the tiny stockings? They’re really cute, don’t get me wrong, but your Dad said it was for a this game?” She said, poking a low-hanging string of tinsel.

His eyes lit up like stars, shining in excitement. “ _ Oh,  _ oh, it this game called Secret Snowflake! Andy was telling me about it, and I - ”

Garnet interrupted him, squatting down to almost their level.

“Steven, didn’t you want to introduce Connie to Andy?”

“Well, yeah, but,” he began, but Garnet lowered her glasses slightly and looked at him with her third eye.

“ _ I  _ think  _ now _ would be a good time, Steven. Before dinner is started.” Her voice remained perfectly even, and Steven fidgeted slightly but ultimately agreed.

“O-okay. Yeah. C’mon, Connie, let me introduce you to Uncle Andy.”

He grabbed her hand and led her around the outskirts of the living room, nearly bumping into Pearl as she emerged from the dining room and moved towards Amethyst, a grimace plastered across her face.

Once he was within a few feet so he wouldn’t have to shout over the din, Steven basically shouted anyways to get us uncle’s attention.

“UNCLE ANNNNDYYYY,” Steven revved his voice up like a slow-to-start engine, overjoyed to be surrounded by so much love.

Connie tightened her grip a little, the pressure around his fingers causing him to look back at her. She was red in the face, and it made her look especially pretty.

After quickly forgetting his own name, Steven shook his head and dragged her towards the man who was looking at them with eyes raised.

“Hi, Uncle Andy! This is Connie. Connie, this is my Uncle Andy. He’s not really my uncle, exactly, more like my dad’s cousin but you know, family.” Steven released Connie’s fingers and swatted his other hand nonchalantly. He noted the thin brown arm beside him fell like dead weight to her side.

“Well, a pleasure to meet you Connie.” He gave her a warm smile, leaning down and offering her a handshake.

She chuckled awkwardly and accepted the greeting “Y-yeah, same to you. Steven’s, um, told me a lot about you.”

“Oh, likewise,” the man responded as he stood back up. “Heck, I feel like I already know you! If he’s not talking about these crazy magic ladies, he’s talking about  _ you _ .”

Steven felt the color rise in his cheeks, and Connie giggled at his expense. His uncle sent him a wink. 

Groaning, he dragged a hand down his face. “Uncle  _ Andy _ .” The  _ pleasestopembarassingme _ was implied in his tone.

The man put up two hands defensively, shrugging. “Hey, I’m a straight-shooter. Honesty is a virtue, kid. Your Dad must have at least taught you that.”

Steven pursed his lips seriously and nodded. “Fair enough. But I feel like I learned that from Garnet mostly. It’s really hard to lie to someone who can see the future.”

Connie laughed heartily, a sound that made his heart thunder beneath his skin, and gave a half-hearted “ha-ha,” obviously still not comfortable with the magic.

Barb called everyone to dinner shortly after, which was perfect, as the conversation didn’t have a chance to become stale. Steven sat at the table between Connie and Peridot, and he gasped audibly once dinner was fully served.

It was a truly unbelievable amount of food. Really, it would have been  _ too _ much if they didn’t have Amethyst to rely on as the general garbage disposal for anything that went unfinished. Sweet and sparkling drinks, tart and warm desserts, salty appetizers and every type of cookie imaginable were spread out across a surprisingly large table. There were two main proteins, at least a half-dozen side-dishes of every variety - fried and baked, fresh and roasted, soft and chewy or cold and crisp. If his life was a cartoon, he probably would have started drooling.

It was sort of nice to have a predominantly human dinner, because Steven didn’t feel as self-conscious eating. Typically, he ate alone, though sometimes Amethyst would join him (but what she usually ate barely constituted as food). Tonight, the food was shared across plenty of humans, and some of the gems, and the Millers served the food ‘family style,’ so there was plates and dishes passed around (this time, everyone served themselves as to avoid another “where are my manners” incident).Garnet had one of her own cookies, Pearl politely but firmly declined anything she was offered, and Amethyst accepted  _ everything _ she was offered. Peridot had plenty of questions about everything, so Connie and Steven did their best to debrief her on what she could expect. (“That’s probably going to be hot, so be careful.” “I don’t think you’ll want to drink a ton of that, it’s bubbly so it’ll make your tongue feel… weird, like scratchy, but in a good way. Sort of like moderation is the best policy?” Etc.)

As the meal began to wind down, her queries shifted more broadly to the holiday in general and the customs associated with it. The snowflakes in the living room had also caught her attention, but Steven kept his mouth sealed and shot his uncle a wink at one point.

Once the meal was finished and all of the humans sufficiently stuffed, the group moved back to the living room. Steven and Connie had somehow gotten onto the topic of dreams, Barb and Vidalia and Greg were contesting last week’s winner of Texas Hold Em, Peridot and Andy were having a surprisingly intense conversation about engines, Garnet was perfectly quiet, and Pearl was watching who she called the ‘Onion children’ play with a music app on the elder brother’s laptop. Amethyst was splayed out on the carpet like a murder victim, actually full for once in her life. 

“...yeah, I think the penguin’s name was Sookie? Or maybe it was Archduke. It’s kind of fuzzy in my memory, if I’m honest. Are you  _ sure _ I haven’t told you this one already? I swear we talked about this at some point..” Steven paused to sip from his cup of hot cocoa, and Connie rubbed his chin.

“I feel like I would remember that, but sorry, it’s not ringing any bells.” She shrugged and took a sip of her own warm apple cider, so Steven mirrored her but got some whipped cream stuck to the end of his nose.

“Really, Steven.” Pearl called from across the couch, her own nose turned up at the display.

Connie giggled at him, and Amethyst leaned over and flicked the sugary goop off his nose and right onto Sadie’s sweater.

“Amethyst, that wasn’t very nice.” Garnet pointed out. The girl stretched the sweater away from her body and looked up, but to their relief, Sadie was smiling and began to laugh. She scooped a bit off the front of her and flung it back at Amethyst. The purple gem hungrily, predictably, caught it in her mouth.

Barb stood up and set an empty glass down a side-table. “Alright, alright, settle down.”

She paused to clear her throat, the sound surprisingly husky. It called them to attention as she moved in front of the fireplace and clapped her hands together.

“Alright, nows about a good time. I wanted to thank you all for coming tonight, I know it’s nice to be with the people who really matter around this time of year. I, uh…” Involuntarily, Barb’s eyes flicked over the form of her daughter before she continued.

“I know we could all do with a little good ol’ fashioned fun. Lately things have been… new and different, so when Andy told me about a DeMayo tradition, I thought tonight would be the perfect time to go back. New for some, old for others, but a lot of fun! ...That’s what I’m told, anyways.”

She sent a quick smile towards Steven’s uncle, who stood up and stretched his arms over his head.

“A’right, a’right. Greg, wanna help me explain this one? It’s a  _ DeMayo  _ tradition, after all.” The man raised his eyebrows at his cousin, as if posing some strange challenge.

He was met with narrowed eyes as Steven’s father stood up and moved adjacent to Andy, arm’s crossed.

“Sooo… let’s see. It’s really not as complicated as you’d think.” Greg started to explain, bobbing his head from side-to-side. “Who here has done a Secret Gift Exchange? Or, at least, heard of one?” 

Four hands were raised, each belonging to a human. Steven had to assume that Barb knew insider-information, but did not feel the need to raise her hand - surely she had been fielded the information before centering it around her party.

With Connie, Sadie, Sour Cream and Vidalia each raising a hand, that still left at least half the party helpless unaware as to the intended plan.. 

Andy placed a hand against his temple and scratched the side of his head, somewhere between bemused and concerned.

“Right… uh, alien-broads. So… uhh, you know what, maybe we should just do trial by fire. Here, everybody write your name down on a piece of paper,” he said as he retrieved some scrap paper and pens from atop the mantle. In turn everyone folded up the pieces of paper and handed them to Greg and gathering the pens into a central pile. Steven heard Pearl whisper to Garnet at one point something about how she wondered how the humans would survive this game if there was fire involved. Before she had the chance to totally preclude Steven from the game, Garnet dismissed her by pressing a finger against her lips.

In turns, Andy and Greg explained the same set of rules that Steven had heard earlier: write your name down along with a few things about yourself, pop it into one of the stockings, and they watched as Greg fumbled to mix them up while not dropping any of the dozen red and white woolen secrets. 

Once Steven’s father completed a final a lap around the coffee table, making sure he had everyone’s returned (Steven was taking the longest, angsting over what to include on his list), Andy picked up the explanation where he left it off earlier.

“So this isn’t  _ exactly  _ like Secret Snowflakes or whatever you might have done. We DeMayo’s know a few things, and one of ‘em is how to be cheap, but in a good way. Budgets are usually tight around the holidays so when we would get together as kids, our parents would give us each five bucks and we’d carpool to the dollar store. Using the name you get and the person’s ‘likes’ as a guide, you have to make them or pick them out a gift. Once we get back, we each open our gift and try to guess who picked it out. Sometimes the stuff is great, other times it’s total crap, but the idea is to have fun. Don’t take it all too seriously.”

“Ooooh,” Steven said, nodding slowly. “That’s why we gotta leave. I get it now!”

Andy smiled and nodded in his direction.

After some clarifying questions and divvying up of rides, the plans were in place and each person selected a stocking from the mantle.

Steven anxiously stuffed his hand inside and fumbled for the tiny piece of paper, eager to see who he got. He practically squeaked with excitement when he recognized the familiar, neat lettering.

_ Connie Maheswaran. _

  1. _Books_
  2. _Dancing_
  3. _Biscuits_



His eyes lingered over the last of the three, feeling a weird squeezing in his chest before Pearl called him to put his coat on. He must have had too much hot cocoa, because the sugar had begun to make his hands shake.


	4. Injustice

From the passenger seat (or, more accurately, from Garnet’s lap who was occupying the actual passenger seat), Steven studied the snow fall from the front window of his Dad’s van, watching the chaotic ballet of dips and dives with each catching wind. The store was only on the other side of Beach City, near the carwash, but they were driving slow out of concern for the weather conditions.

Amethyst, Pearl, and Peridot were also present, settling atop the medley of garbage and hidden treasures that made his father’s van feel like home. The Millers had volunteered to drive Connie and Vidalia; Barb had reasoned they all needed to have some “good ol’ fashioned human girl time.” Steven couldn’t decide if it was funnier that Barb had made the suggestion, Sadie’s chagrin the moment it left her mother’s lips, or Connie’s face as she was led into their modest sedan. That left Andy to drive Sour Cream and Onion, and Steven was going to offer to go with them as well but Pearl seemed firm that she wanted to be in the same car with him - the choice was Pearl and the Boys, or Steven and the Crystal Gems… so the choice seemed pretty obvious.

It took Steven a moment of quiet contemplation before he realized a purple blob had appeared beside him, looking rather conspiratorial.

“So, Steman, who’dya get?” Amethyst narrowed her eyes, studying his face for a hint of betrayal.

He lifted his chin a little and looked away. “Amethyst, I can’t tell you that! It was like, one of the only rules.”

“Yeah, but rules are  _ boring _ . C’mon, I’ll tell you if you tell me.” There was a mischievous flash in her grin, and Steven couldn’t help but let himself be tempted… The Gems  _ could  _ be helpful - they know Connie almost as well as he does - and Garnet could  _ make sure she likes… _

“No.” A voice came from above his head, so he turned his eyes skyward and was met with an inverted Garnet. It was weird, being upside down, but she was smiling before ruffling his hair.

Without context, Amethyst thought the command was directed towards her, so she huffed and was prepared to argue when Greg cut her off.

“Amethyst, do you mind?” He pleaded, eyes wide with focus. “I’m trying to focus on the road.”

Peridot pulled the purple gem back to sitting beside her, nodding seriously.

“Steven’s father has a point. We only just got him back from Homeworld, it would be a great waste if he died on the way to the store in a car wreck.”

The inhale through Pearl’s nostrils that followed might as well have been deafening, and the scolding that followed was enough to make even Garnet cringe.

Upon arriving to the store, the Gems filed out to find the other cars had already arrived and their occupants were waiting inside.

“Aye! Took you long enough. I don’t even live here and I thought you mighta gotten lost.” Andy directed his comment at Greg as they walked into the tiny store. It couldn’t have had more than 12 aisles, each cluttered with cheap odds and ends. The most expensive sign Steven could spot was bright yellow, with a big black “$5” printing on the front.

At first, Steven found the idea sort of bizarre when Uncle Andy had explained it, but now that he was here, he could definitely see how this could be the making of a fun evening. There was a little sampling of everything for everyone - toy swords he could have gotten for Pearl, funny earmuffs for Garnet, a little MP3 player for Peridot… Nothing here was priceless or essential, but that’s sort of where the fun came into play. Get something that the person would appreciate, rather as a joke or as a real gift, that shows you put some thought into it.

After a brief bit of bickering between the cousins, Steven interrupted by tugging on his Dad’s jacket. 

He was eager to get started. “So, we spend the whole five dollars on anything in the store?” 

“Yeah, Steven, anything you think your person would like.” His Dad let out a low exhale of annoyance, mostly with himself for letting Andy bait him like that, but gave his son a crinkly grin.

Andy added a final thought before everyone began to split up. “Keep in mind it’s a small place, so try not to get into each other’s business too much. If you’re in the same aisle don’t make a fuss, alright?”

The group more-or-less nodded along, so the man checked his watch and instructed everyone to get started.

Most of the group floated towards aisles sort of aimlessly, eyes scanning shelves and end-displays for something that would catch their eye, though Steven and Amethyst bolt bolted towards the toy section.

“Aw man, I know just what to get  _ my _ Secret Snowflake.” Amethyst said once they were alone, wiggling her eyebrows at him.

“Amethyst! I can’t tell you, you know it’s not fair.” Steven puffed out his cheeks, trying to resist the urge to spill anyways. Looking around at the shelves was sort of dizzying, and nothing here particularly screamed “Connie” at him.

He was met with a dramatic roll of the eyes. “I’m just kidding, don’t get all worked up. But seriously, if you got me, please go get me some of that beef stock in the food aisle.”

“B-Beef stock?” Steven looked aghast at the suggestion.

“Yeah,” she yawned and began to walk away. “We used to come here more when you were little to get diapers and junk. I used to down those like sodas. Man, those were the days.”

Steven blinked at the outline of where his company had just turned the corner into another aisle, unsure if he should be disturbed or amused. When it came to Amethyst, it was fair to assume a bit of both.

His search continued through the same aisle for a little while, lingering over the toy lightsabers and foam katanas stuffed into a shelf with pool noodles. They seemed… okay, but they were Connie-esque at best. He really wanted something  _ Connie _ , not -esque or -like, and the things here just weren’t quite right.

At one point, Sadie walked by him and smiled, holding some sunglasses and a pack of stickers. 

_ Stickers?! That’s so good! Why didn’t I think of that! _

Stifling a groan, Steven walked in the direction from which she had come, hoping for better luck elsewhere.

He passed an aisle with holiday-themed stuff and saw his Dad and Vidalia standing near each other, looking at the shelves but not speaking.

Another aisle was empty, filled with baby stuff like diapers and bottles, though there was a conspicuous pouf of pale blonde hair sticking through one shelf. Steven felt it best to just not ask, secretly thanking Vidalia for excluding her youngest son from the game. (“Ah, you know Onion! He’ll probably flip the $5 and make it $25, and that’s just not fair to everyone else.”)

He recalled having to try very hard to not mention anything related to larceny.

Passing a third aisle, Steven paused and ducked behind the end display of the latest  _ Justice Friends _ merchandise when he spotted Pearl and his very own snowflake chatting quietly, standing next to the greeting cards and wrapping paper. 

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but they were speaking too low to pick up any of the words.

Huddling between the cardboard cut-out knees of Sergeant USA, Steven felt the despair of latent irony.

To the inanimate league that defended the justice of a fictional world, Steven whispered, “ _ The injustice!”  _ before bounding to his feet in the other direction, passing the aisles he had already seen until he found somewhere new.

Mostly to himself, he grumbled as he sorted through a mismatched pile of mittens and gloves.

“Pearl and Connie, in cahoots! Of all people breaking the rules… And  _ I’m _ supposed to keep it a secret? Well, pff. Pffffffff.” He blew a raspberry a little too loudly in his frustration and was found by another familiar face. Andy was right earlier - they were really bumping into each other constantly.

“Hey, it’s Steven. What’s up… uh? Why are you spitting on those gloves? Did they do something?” Sour Cream asked, hovering nearby the bin and watching the saliva shower, mentally making a note not to buy gloves from here until next season.

Steven grimaced and looked up at his company. “Oh, hey, Sour Cream. Uh… no, I wasn’t paying attention. Umm…” he suddenly felt very guilty and tried to brush his spit off the top of the bin, wary of creating any Mitten-Stevens. That was the last thing they all needed tonight.

“How’s your gift search going? Any luck?” Steven asked absently, not wanting to be rude. His eyes were already scanning the shelves around him, starting to feel a little stressed about this after all. He wanted to get Connie something perfect, and so far, he’s 0/$5.

“Oh yeah, that’s right. I wanted to ask you - I got your Dad. He’s like, really into music, right?”

Steven flinched back as if he had been insulted. “S-Sour Cream! I’m not allowed to know that. That’s chea-” but he stopped when he watched Pearl emerge from across the store with a basket of things she’s already selected. Connie came out after her a moment later with a smile on her face before turning down another aisle.

_ The injustice! _

“...Yeah.  _ Yeah _ . You know what? My Dad  _ does  _ like music. He  _ loves  _ it!” Steven threw his hands up for emphasis.

If the teen noticed anything odd about Steven, like perhaps the crazed gleam that had appeared in his eye, he didn’t say anything.

“Okay, cool. Thanks dude.” He tossed him a glowstick before walking away. 

Steven stuffed the plastic luminescent into his coat pocket and marched down the length of the aisle. It was filled with wares of all different kinds - winter accessories, beach sandals, sunglasses, hats and socks. From his other pocket, he fished out a note with sweet and simple lettering for a second time.

_ Connie Maheswaran. _

  1. _Books_
  2. _Dancing_
  3. _Biscuits_



Should he be literal? Maybe he could get her a book, a CD, and some biscuits or something comparably close from the small food aisle?

_ But that’s not putting any thought into it! _ This is Connie - it has to be  _ special _ .

_ It’s Connie. What does Connie like? Connnniiiiiie. Con-nie. Conniiiie. Ccccccccooooooooonie.  _ He kept trying to say her name in his head with different inflections, hoping it might make him feel more himself and less like a frustrated mess. He was getting angry for no real reason, and he could hear a few voices starting to gather at the front of the store. Some people were already finished, and he had nothing yet.

“Hey, kiddo,” a voice said in front of him.

“Ah!” Steven shielded his face, startled by the unexpected presence.

“Sheesh, I know I’m not much to look at but most people don’t scream when they see me. Uh, w-whoa, Steven, what’s wrong? It’s just me, your old man.”

He lowered his reflexive defenses and was immediately apologetic. “S-sorry, Dad! It’s not that. It’s just, um… well, I’m… I don’t want to cheat, but can I tell you something about my person?”

“Sure, son. It’s just a game. You don’t need to get up-and-arms over this.”

Steven shuffled his feet shamefully, but continued. “I know it’s a game, but I want it to be special anyways.”

The boy didn’t see it, but Greg smiled warmly at his son, wondering how he had ever been so lucky.

Kneeling down in the middle of the clothing aisle, he placed a hand of comfort on his son’s shoulder. “Of course you do, kid. Maybe I can help. You don’t have to tell me who it is, but if you want to throw some ideas my way, I can tell you what I think.”

Steven looked up shyly at his father and gave him a quick hug, feeling significantly better already.

“Thanks, Dad. Um, so Co - my  _ person…  _ said some specific things on their list. I could probably buy them here, or stuff related to it, but I want to do more than that. I know this person pretty well, so I feel like I should try to combine the gifts into something extra special.”

His Dad stood up, nodding slowly while running a hand through his long hair. “Hmm… okay. And with a five dollar budget?”

For a moment he paused, looking at his son, and Steven was worried for a moment he was about to dismiss the notion as impossible.

“Well,” Greg said with a shrug. “If anyone can make that work, it’s definitely my son. Let’s find the perfect gift for your… person.”

Immediately, stars sprang in his eyes and Steven wore a bright smile. His Dad was right - he just needed to relax and focus. He’s  _ got  _ this.


	5. Dadvice

Grabbing his father’s hand, Steven zoomed back and forth through the store, refusing to settle. He chattered away about each thing that caught his eye and about how it was close, but not close enough, or good, but could be better, or nice, but not great.

At one point while they switched aisles, Greg noted that everyone seemed to be waiting on the two of them at the front of the store. No one looked particularly anxious to go, chatting idly, but he knew Steven could be here all night trying to find the perfect gift if he didn’t push him along.

“And, the thing is with this, I feel like the meaning behind the stuff is more important than whatever I a -- Dad?” Steven stopped when he saw his father pause in the middle of a row of cleaning supplies. Connie had basically impeccable hygiene, so it was almost an entire waste to come down this aisle at all, so he was surprised to see his dad stopped in front of the Q-Taps.

“Steven, c’mhere.” He jerked his head to one side and picked up the box of ear cleaners.

Curious, but still fighting down some nerves, Steven complied.

“I dunno, Dad. The Q-Taps don’t really seem like their kind of thing.”

“No, no, I realize that. I wanted to maybe… offer some advice.”

Steven bounced on the balls of his heels. “Ohhh, Dadvice! My favorite!”

Greg chuckled at that and handed him the plastic packaging. 

With a wink, he leaned closer and said “I’m going to have to cheat just a  _ tiny _ ,  _ tiny _ bit. Promise you won’t tell the others?”

Chewing at his lip, Steven nodded, feeling rather scandalous.

“Okay. I won’t tell you who I have, but I will tell you this - I  _ don’t _ have you. So I wanted to use me picking out a gift for you as an example.”

Steven deflated a little bit at the news - he was certain if his Dad had him he’d have gotten a great gift - but that didn’t mean someone else wouldn’t have gotten him something awesome anyways.

“Okay… but Q-Taps? I had to narrow my list down to three things, and I’m sorry to say this wasn’t part of the list.”

This time, Greg laughed a little louder. “I know that you little rascal! Even if I didn’t see pick your stocking, I’m sure you didn’t  _ ask _ for ear cleaners. But I would probably buy them if I had you anyways. I know you’re all about your squeaky clean ears after a nice shower or before bed, because I am too. Guess it’s a Universe thing,” he paused to look at the ceiling lights, thoughtful for a moment.

“Anyways, the point is, I know you would never  _ ask  _ for this. But you’d take it home, and in a few months when you finish the pack of them you’re on, you’ll go to the cabinet and grab these. And you’d smile because it would remind you of this party and all food and the Gems and Andy and Connie being together. You’d remember the rad matching Miller Sweaters, and Peridot and Andy talking like old war mechanics… which, I guess they kind of are… but, do you get it? You don’t need to get her the  _ perfect  _ gift, but get her the perfect gift  _ for _ her,  _ from  _ you. That way, when she sees it or picks it up or uses it next time, it will be whatever  _ you _ did that mattered.”

Steven’s mouth was hanging open slightly, and his eyes were wide as saucers.

Quietly, he mouthed one quasiword. “ _ Dadvice….” _

Abruptly, he turned away and began to practically sprint in the other direction, feeling sufficiently inspired… if he could pull it off.

Steven called over his shoulder. “ _ THANKYOUDADIHAVEANIDEAITHINKTHISWILLBEGREAT!” _

Lips pursed, the man turned away to go secure his own purchase and wait with the others, but hesitated for a moment. He picked up a pack of Q-Taps and brought them to the counter to buy anyways.

\--

Humming to himself, Steven collapsed his findings the best he could and brought them to the register, where he unceremoniously spilled his bulky gift across counter. His Dad and Pearl the only ones left waiting inside, standing a few feet shy of the entrance, and they stopped whatever idle chatter had befallen them when they spotted Steven at the register.

“Hi! I couldn’t find a price tag on this. Can I buy it for $5?” He chimed at the clerk, a crestfallen looking teenager, probably a year or two younger than Lars.

“Um, no. That’s just a display piece - it’s not for sale.” He sounded a little sorry, but mostly confused, as he watched the boy sink to his knees across the register.

With tired eyes, the teen glanced nervously between the heap across from him and the approaching adults near the entrance. “For $5, you can still get some pretty decent stuff. We have, um… really bomb snickerdoodles? Do you like snickerdoodles?”

Pearl and his father had made their way over at that point, only to find Steven headfirst against the exterior of the employee’s post. His entire face was pressed up against the plastic in a look of agonizing defeat.

“Steven, stop that - this place is filthy.” Pearl grabbed his shoulder firmly and pulled him back, missing the slightly offended flicker across the clerk’s face. Greg gave him an apologetic shrug.

“But, Pearl. This is no time for snickerdoodles!”

“S-snickerdoodles?” Pearl responded with a raised brow, looking from the strangely organized pieces of cardboard, the teen, and the wrinkled five dollar bill in Steven’s grasp.

In fairness, Greg appeared almost as confused as Pearl, and he at least had some clue as to what was going on, although the choice of gift was a… surprise.

Pearl bent down and turned Steven to face her, eyes filled with kindness. “Now, Steven, I know you must have put a lot of thought into this… um,  _ thing _ ,” she nodded her head at the teen, who was more than likely apologizing for the strange night the employee must be having at his family’s expense.

“But, rules are rules. You have to pick something in the store to give to someone else that you can spend this green paper on. And…”

“That’ll be four dollars and twenty cents.” The clerk interrupted Pearl’s comforting lecture, to the mixed surprise of all.

“B-but you said,” Steven began to question his good fortune, hoping he hadn’t misheard him.

“Nope. I was wrong. Found a price tag after all. You can buy it if you want it.”

Steven slammed the bill onto the counter so hard he very nearly could have broken it - it was at least enough to knock some gum off the display nearby.

Greg ruffled his son’s hair and nodded towards a bin like the one that contained the mittens earlier, only this one was filled with bows and discount wrapping paper.

“And look at that, you have enough left over if you want to try to wrap it. Go pick something so we can get outta here!”

In a flash, Steven completed his mission and the sale was complete. He all but sprinted to the van in his enthusiasm to start wrapping.

“What did you do?” Pearl asked as she adjusted her pink and white cap around her gemstone before setting a course in Steven’s wake.

Greg shrugged. “Eh, I gave the kid twenty bucks. He looked like he could use the break as much as we do.”


	6. Exchanges and Mistakes

“Okay, let’s all take five and we’ll do presents. Sound good?” Barb offered as she took some of the empty glasses from earlier towards the kitchen while everyone settled into the couches or on the floor in a wobbly but well-intended circle.

Once he was securely out of his jacket, Steven found a seat next to Sadie and Connie on the couch, the latter of whom was looking at Sour Cream’s computer screen along with Amethyst and Peridot; the prodigal musician was sharing some sort of strange holiday remix he had found in some strange corner of the internet.

Sadie was studying her socks (white with grey stripes along the ankles), so Steven tried to strike up a conversation rather than interrupt the others.

“How’d you do at the store? Sorry I took so long.” He smiled a bit sheepishly.

Sadie bobbed her head from side to side, taking a moment to answer. “Eh, I think I did okay. I feel like I sort of got an easy person to shop for. How ‘bout you?”

Steven bobbed this time, but he moved his whole body up and down on the cushion. “Oh, it was really tough. I felt like... my... well, I couldn’t settle on anything. It was harder than I thought it’d be!”

She gave him a small laugh before falling quiet again, lips an anxious line across her face. It was an expression she wore a lot lately, and it made Steven sad to see it creep up despite the camaraderie of the night.

Quietly, he settled back against the couch and looked at his own feet. “You... doing okay?”

Neither of them needed to ask about what.

She released a small exhale and rubbed the corners of her eyes with a thumb and forefinger.

“I’m... yeah, I’m okay. It’s just... you know how my Mom is. All of this is nice, but I’m just tired.”

Steven half-smiled, but they both knew she wasn’t convincing.

Another few minutes passed of peaceful chatter, a bit calmer than they had been after dinner, and Steven decided it best not to push the issue... honestly, it was as much as Sadie’s sake for his own, though.

Andy eventually slapped the palms of his hands against his knees and stood, moving infront of the fireplace once again.

“Barb, you almost done?” He semi-shouted in the direction of the kitchen. It wasn’t demanding, more of a curious-prodding than anything.

There was a long pause before the woman came trodding into the living room, a very large platter stacked with every variety of cookie imaginable held awkwardly in front of her. It was clear she didn’t use the tray much from the way she was holding it, low and somewhat hunched below her center of gravity, there was a distinctive trepidation that read  _ god-I-hope-I-don’t-drop-this-right-now _ .

“Y-yep, let’s do this! Phew. That was like a thousand mile hike, I really shoulda made two trips.” She scooted down on Sadie’s otherside, and by now everyone’s attention was directed forward— whether that was at Andy or the cookies was anybody’s guess.

“Mmm. Who made these? Sooo good,” Sour Cream said with crumbs falling onto his signature blue sweatshirt. Garnet smiled.

“We did. You’re welcome.”

“Thanks, you guys.” Sadie agreed as she munched on a confectionary treat of her own. Her gratitude had been directed towards Pearl and Amethyst as well as Garnet had said “we,” but there was a polite acknowledgement shared between the four of them that knew Garnet had only been referring to herself.

Andy had already begun to arrange everyone’s gifts, which ranged from neatly wrapped to still shoved inside a cheap plastic bag from the check-out, across the living room in front of the mantle where the snowflakes shined, interior stars that bespeckled the cozy zenith of the Miller home.

“Alright, let’s get this going! Since it’s a DeMayo tradition, why don’t we let Steven pick the first present? Then whoever gets picked can go from there and so on.”

Of course, he did not need telling twice, exploding from the couch onto his knees before the pile. His eyes lingered greedily over dazzling paper and shiny bags, unsure of where to even begin (though he did  _ not _ start with his own, which was perhaps the largest and most oddly shaped gift of them all).

“Okayyyyyy, how about... this one! It’s such a pretty color.” Steven scooped up a tiny box with soft pink snowflakes against white paper, tied carefully with a silvery looped bow.

He squinted at the handwriting on the tag. “Oh, it’s for Sour Cream.”

The teen looked a little surprised at the size of the present— just large enough to fit in his grip— and opened in curiously.

“Oh man, sweet! Pop rocks. And... a rubber ducky? Wait, oh here it says— oh snap, it glows in the dark! I can totally rave to this.” He began to squeak the toy and  _ bowbow-bowbowbow  _ to the high pitched sound, much to the amusement of the onlookers.

“Alright, who do you think got you?” Greg asked, leaning over the back of the loveseat where Pearl and Vidalia sat, with Onion wedged oddly between them.

“Hmm... It’s like, too perfect, you know? I feel like it had to be my Mom.”

The woman in question clicked her tongue and leaned back against the soft cushions.

“Sorry S.C., wasn’t me.”

“Dang... well, well done whoever you are!” Sour Cream had already begun to tear open the watermelon flavored pop rocks when Andy regained control.

“Who actually got him?”

After a tense pause, Steven felt shifting next to him, only to realize Sadie’s hand went airborne.

“Wh-oa Sadie Killer, nice one. Thanks.” He smiled and downed the package, wincing at the strange sensation on his tongue of tiny mortars against his taste buds.

She gave him a grin and a wave of acknowledgement but quickly sank down beside Steven once again.

Sour Cream went next in the game, selecting a medium-sized gift bag of seasonally inappropriate yellow flowers.

“The tag on this one is, uh...” he double-checked the name. “It’s Andy.”

With a nervous chuckle, he thanked Sour Cream as he passed him his gift. It was surprisingly heavy.

“Hmm... okay, let’s see... oh, w-wow, this is... um. Wow.” He pulled out five boxes of screws, nuts and bolts. “I didn’t even know the dollar store sold this stuff. Um... man, I dunno. Maybe... Steven?”

All the eyes turned to him before Steven realized he was being asked to verify— his attention had lingered to the delicate brown fingers that had laid themselves across his own.

“H-uhh, oh, nope, nope, not me. Sorry, Uncle Andy.”

The man scratched his chin a few times curiously before there was an absolute explosion of sound.

“It was  **_I_ ** , the great and lovable Peridot! After our earlier conversation, I managed to deduce you must be the Earth equivalent to an engineer. I was rather impressed with the belongings I found in my barn,” a slight twitch of the eye could be seen flash across Andy’s face, but the green Gem did not skip a beat.

“And after having used and re-used numerous of these, uh, ‘bolts’ and ‘screws’ as you call them on Earth, I felt obligated to try to repay you. So accept these as my thanks. I have a home now, and I appreciate it.”

She sat down suddenly, the room somewhat stunned by the unexpectedly heartfelt demonstration of Peridot’s gratitude. Uncle Andy seemed a little perturbed, but he was smiling.

“Thanks, uh, Peridot. I appreciate the gift.”

The night went on in this pattern for at least another half an hour— Andy had selected a present for Greg, which Steven already knew to be from Sour Cream. Within was a warm looking hat and a bizarre bobble-head with an electric guitar, which he seemed to appreciate.

Greg then selected a gift for Amethyst, which had been exactly six mini-frozen pizzas. Her list had included only food, and Barb said she could say from experience the mini pizzas from the dollar store were “fantastic.”

Next was the gift intended for Pearl, which was simply wrapped in white paper. Within was a weird, knock-off looking board game called WhoDunIt! She would have suspected Steven if she had not been there when he made his purchase, so she ended up guessing Garnet— and she was actually spot on.

“It’s only slightly more confusing than Kitchen Calamity, but I have a pretty good feeling we’ll all have fun playing it next time we have a day in.” Garnet placed a hand on the Gem’s shoulder while explaining

Pearl gave her fingers a squeeze of gratitude before selecting a gift from the pile, which was addressed to Sadie.

“Oh, great. Thanks.” Sadie stood from the couch properly this time so she could open the present without elbowing Steven and her mother with every slight movement. Within she found a shiny travel coffee mug and some surprisingly punk earrings.

“W-wow. These are nice. Um... was that you, Andy?” Sadie tried to not be too awkward about it, but her voice went up unnaturally at the end.

Before the man could respond, a shy voice sounded to the side. “No, it was me. I hope it isn’t too weird!”

Connie’s face was tinged a flattering shade of red that Steven quickly mirrored, but she was looking at Sadie. Sadie, for her part, just seemed confused.

“I know you don’t work at the Big Donut anymore, so I figure if you need to get coffee it’ll have to be... somewhere while you’re going places, you know? And then, Steven told me all about your band and your amazing song and the skulls just, I don’t know, seemed...”

Connie was surprised when she found herself in a hug, trailing off before returning the gesture to Sadie.

“Thanks, Connie. This was really nice of you.”

Barb beamed at the two girls as her daughter moved to sit down, quietly asking if she could see the earrings.

Connie was up next, so naturally Steven fidgeted a bit as she examined the remaining presents in the pile. There was still gifts left for her, Steven, Barb, Peridot, Garnet, and Vidalia... so she went for the largest present of them all.

“This one... oh, it’s actually for me. Should I pick again?” She bit her lip and fielded her question in Greg’s direction, but he waved her off.

“Nah, go ahead. Whoever got you will just pick next instead.” Steven could have sworn he saw his Dad’s eyes flicker his direction, but the thin sheen of sweat around his palms was too distracting to be sure.

Connie picked up the package and sort of adjusted it so she was leaning against the couch with the packaging in her lap. The paper crinkled lightly as she moved, and Steven was more excited than nervous like he had been earlier.

_ It’s not the gift that matters, it’s the gift you got for her,  _ **_from you_ ** _. _

He repeated the dadvice in his head like a mantra, but his internal chant was interrupted when Sadie suddenly jerked up next to him and bound off the couch.

“This! This is what I’m talking about. I just... ugh, sorry, keep opening the presents. I need some air.” She stormed off through the dining room, and after a tense silence the sound of the backdoor could be heard slamming closed against a rush of chilly night air.

Steven felt like his nerves were being overwound like an out-of-tune ukulele over this gift, but that was all going to have to wait.

“W-what was that?” Greg stood up straight, and Connie placed her present down beside her. All eyes turned towards Barb who had stood up with her daughter, half-turned towards the dining room.

“I... I just, I didn’t mean... Sadie, wait!”

She went after her daughter but was stopped when Andy grabbed her by the wrist. “Whoa, whoa, Barb. Just a second. What happened? Everything was fine a second ago. Did you do something to upset her?”

“No! Of course not! I mean, I don’t... I didn’t  _ mean  _ to if I did, it was just — ” she wretched her wrist free and rubbed in with her other hand, looking down at the floor. It was clear that the moment had made them all very tense, and when Steven met eyes with his dad, he frowned.

This was not how the night was supposed to go.

“Um... maybe, maybe I should go talk to her?” Steven suggested, sliding off the couch and moving around Connie who was still kneeling on the floor, looking terribly uncomfortable. He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but Barb was already moving in the same direction.

“No, she’s my daughter, I must have said something, but I’m not... if I just apologize...”

“Wait,  _ apologize _ ?” Vidalia said, standing from the loveseat with her arms crossed. The two were old friends, so she had no problem calling out a problem when she saw one. The Gems were watching the affair unwind in mostly-polite silence, aside from Peridot’s very confused whisperings to Amethyst.

“I...” Barb started to say, clenching and unclenching her fists in distress. It was clear that there was guilt etched into the lines of her face, but she didn’t even seem to know what she had done wrong.

“Was it about Lars?” Steven suggested quietly.

Everyone’s eyes turned back to him, though their weight was far outdone by the strain of his own massive guilt. Barb looked at him, chewing on her lip, and nodded.

Steven closed his eyes and took a deep breath, looking inwards rather than outwards for a long moment.

“If it’s okay, can I talk to her? I think I... might be able to help.” He gave the Gems and Connie a sad smile before returning his attention to Sadie’s mom, who still seemed a half-second away from running to the back door. Andy’s gaze flickered between the two like a old Western standoff before meeting eyes with his nephew. There was a flatness there he had never seen before, lined by uncharacteristic sadness and sincerity.

He nodded at Steven to go after her and turned his attention to the distressed woman beside him.

“Barb, can we... talk for a minute? Sorry, everyone, just have some uh, cookies and stuff. We’ll just be a few.”

With a hand between her shoulder blades, he guided her out and around the hallway to the upstairs.


	7. DeMayos Talk

“Sadie, can I…?” Steven poked his head out of the door and spotted her on the back porch. Their home had a small backyard, fenced in on all sides, and the house opened to a modest terrace of old wood and, in this case, snow-dusted lawn chairs.

She was leaning against a bannister, elbows creviced between a light layer of crunchy snow, looking skywards.

“Yeah. It’s fine.” Her voice was thick and slower than normal, but it didn’t sound like tears.

Steven stomped his way across the white and wooden landing before notching his own elbows into the ledge. His posture slouched naturally, so he studied to snow rather than the stars.

After a thoughtful quiet passed between the two friends, Steven eventually tried his hand at sympathy. (And, maybe unbeknownst to him, some empathy, too.)

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Sadie took a moment to respond, still tracing the constellations she knew with her mind’s eye. It felt unfair to her, like they were engaged in some sweet secret, but only stars were privy to that knowledge.

Sadie was not, nor would ever be, a star.

“I don’t  _ want _ to, but I feel like I have to.” There was a lot that was left unsaid in each syllable, but Steven got the gist.

“I know that feeling.”

When Sadie didn’t respond, he welcomed some cold air across his tongue and shared some of his own troubles, hoping it would be enough to convince her to talk about it.

“When I… got back, all I felt like I  _ could _ do was talk about what happened. Not because I wanted to, but because that was what everyone needed to know. ‘Steven, what happened?’ ‘Steven, are you okay?’ ‘Steven, you  _ ran out _ on the Diamonds?’ It wasn’t at all what I wanted to talk about, but that’s what needed to happen so we could all… I don’t know. Not move on, but be on the same page again. What happened on Homeworld…”

Reflexively, his hands clenched into fists. The instinct was driven by some emotion, maybe fear, maybe anger, but he wasn’t really sure.

“I guess, if you don’t want to talk about it, I would be the first person to understand. But if you  _ need _ to talk about it, I can listen.”

With a sideways glance, he noticed Sadie had adjusted her focus to the snow-covered earth.

Eventually, a tiny smile cracked through her facade, though it was twinged with all sorts of sadness.

“Thanks, Steven,” she began slowly. “I really can’t even imagine what you and Lars went through out there. It feels like I’m just being dramatic by comparison.”

“You’re not.” Steven quickly reassured her, at which she gave a mirthless chuckle.

“It’s not just Lars. That’s a lot of it, but I’m just… I’m  _ tired _ . Really, really tired. My Mom keeps trying to force everything to be okay, but she doesn’t really know how to even do that. One day she’ll act like Lars never existed, and the next she’ll be all hovering in my business asking every two seconds if I’m okay, if I want to talk about it.  _ She’s _ exhausting. I feel like I can’t even come home without walking on eggshells around her, because I never know which way she’s going to come at me with all of this. If I want to be alone, she’s there. If I want to have company, she leaves me alone. I know she’s trying, and the party was sweet, but we’re just really out of sync on this and she’s only making it worse.”

Steven listened silently, absently admiring the reflections of white moonbeams across pale snow and the mystifying effect therein. Once Sadie seemed to be finished, he adjusted slightly on the bannister so he was half-facing her, but still looking out at the snow.

“When you said out of sync, it sort of reminded me of me and Connie when I got back. I know it’s not like the same thing, but I just wanted things to go back to the way they were. I wanted so, so badly for her to be okay with the stupid things I did that I didn’t even think about how she might have felt. It took me awhile to realize it, but I hurt her. I think your Mom might be doing the same thing.”

They were both quiet for a moment, so Steven turned around and leaned against the rails, looking towards the house.

“When I went to Homeworld, it was like… I don’t know, we all skipped timelines. Everyone was going different speeds. For weeks, I didn’t know why what I had done had hurt Connie, just that she was hurt. So I tried to give her space, or text her everyday. It was… it really sucked. I hated every minute not knowing, but that couldn’t have even compared to how  _ she  _ felt not-knowing when I was on Homeworld. I could have been…  _ seriously hurt _ ,” he said with a pause, figuring talking about death was probably not going to cheer Sadie up at all.

“At least on Earth, I knew she was physically okay, even if she hated me. When we were out there…” his voice trailed off, the rest not really needing to be said aloud anyways.

“...Yeah.” Sadie added eventually, not sure what else to say.

Steven stood up from the bannister and took a step towards the house, but turned back to Sadie with a final thought. “I don’t think you should just ‘forgive’ your mom, like how Connie didn’t just forgive me. But… if you talk to her about what  _ she’s _ doing, maybe that will help. You don’t have to talk about Lars, or what happened with Topaz and Aquamarine, or any of that if you don’t want to. Setting some things clear might help her, though. You, too.”

He turned the rest of the way and walked back into the house, a small part of his brain wondering and hoping he didn’t miss Connie opening his gift. Somehow, he felt impossibly heavier and lighter at the same time.

“I know you told me you’re really worried about her, but maybe worrying isn’t the best thing right now.” Andy sat down at the vanity, although its use for Barb was hardly deserving of the name. Across the face of the little table, lined with mirrors of three angles, were piles of mail and different gloves she would wear on her routes depending on the weather.

Barb was seated opposite to him on her bed, face in her hands as she swung between trying not to cry and genuinely confused.

“I know you say that, but you don’t have a kid, Andy. You can’t do anything  _ but  _ worry about them all the time.” She pushed the palms of her hands a little firmer into her eyes, hoping to relieve some small amount of tension.

The man clenched his jaw and sat up a little straighter. “I know that, but your girl is tough as nails, Barb. Anyone can see that. She doesn’t need you to worry about her. She needs  _ you _ , her Mom.”

Her hands fell and she pressed them into her knees, facing the tired man across from her with some embarrassing color in her cheeks. “I know! You’ve already told me all this before! I’m  _ trying _ to be there for her as her Mom, but she’s… she’s just… I don’t understand her! I want to help, but she doesn’t tell me what she needs. I… I should just know, though. Guess I’m kinda bad at this.”

“Whoa, whoa,” Andy stood up and moved next to her, carefully taking one of her shaking hands in his own. “I didn’t say that. Why don’t you just tell me what happened?”

She looked at their hands together for a long moment, eventually giving his rough hands a squeeze before drawing back.

“I was so happy watching everybody open their presents, and when Sadie got hers she looked so happy and gave Steven’s girlfriend such a big hug. I hadn’t seen her like that in so long, I didn’t mean anything by it… But when she sat down, I sort of put my arm around her and said she didn’t need Lars to be happy. She can be happy with just us.”

Andy went rigid, so the woman quickly added. “I realize what I said was stupid! I didn’t really think ‘bout it though, and I guess that’s my problem. It was just so nice to see her happy again I sorta just… blah’d it out.”

Barb returned to pressing her hands into her eyes, half out of wanting to do something and half out of wanting not to see the look on his face.

He stood from the bed and moved back to the vanity, but this time he faced into the mirror, lips pressed together.

“I don’t think it was stupid,” he began quietly. Barb peeked up between her fingers to see him examining something in the crows feet in his eyes. “You’re just trying to help. There’s nothing stupid about that.”

With a low sigh, he turned back to face her with a reserved smile on his face, a trace of solemnity lining his eyes.

“Greg told me most of what happened to this town in the past month. I didn’t ever want to ask because you and your girl both seem on edge about it. Steven talked about it a little bit tonight, but not much. When Greg told me, I about exploded on him for letting Steven do something so reckless, but of course, I got my senses back and he knew I didn’t mean it.”

Resting her chin in her hands, Barb angled herself so she was facing Andy properly, slouching though she was.

“Thing is, I want to be angry about what happened ‘cause they’re all just kids. Not even  _ my  _ kids, but that doesn’t mean I don’t worry sick about my nephew. But being angry won’t do anything… and if I’m being honest with ya Barbie,” he said her nickname softly, smiling at her. It was forbidden to be said by anyone but him, so he knew it would get her attention.

“I’ve seen this before. The way they talk about it, the way they look away whenever someone is brought up, or the little slip-ups in conversations followed by speedy cover-ups. This magic-alien stuff is hard to wrap my head around, but what they’re going through isn’t new. They’re in a war, Barb. A weird-space-alien war, but a war nonetheless. My buddies were the same way for weeks, months… even years, in some cases, after. It changes ‘em. It changed me.”

Barb bit her lip and leaned forward. “But I don’t want my girl to change, Andy. I want to be able to protect her from all this. I want to know it doesn’t all end up like hell in a handbasket, and that’s how she’s been acting lately. She won’t talk to me about anything, she won’t really talk to anyone about the Barriga boy.”

He simply shrugged and stood up, offering her a hand to join him. “I can’t help ya there. She’s going to grow up eventually, and you can’t be there for her everytime something goes wrong. And yeah, it sucks that she had to do it in this way. I feel the same way about Steven and all of his, uh, sisters or aunts or whatever. But they’re there for him, and that’s what you have to do, too. If Sadie needs you, the important thing isn’t that you tried to already fix it; what matters is that you’re already  _ there _ , so she can come to you if she needs to. Girls gotta do some of the growing up on her own.”

Barb studied his hand for a little while, like she had never before seen this gesture in her life, before eventually accepting it. When she was standing, Andy brought her into a full hug, holding her in his arms. The whole exchange was wordless, but the quiet was still filled with understanding - worry, loss, forgiveness, gratitude, safety, appreciation. All of it wrapped between their arms, and Barb released a final contended sigh when he released her.

“Now, we still haven’t gotten to your present, and if it’s from Vidalia I’m pretty sure  _ someone  _ owes me an extra $5.”

“Oh, you wish,” she said while hooking her arm through his own. “It’s going to be from Steven. I just know it.”

They laughed and made their way back downstairs, just in time for them to catch the tail-end of a joke.

“O-oh, hey! You good?” Vidalia sat forward on the loveseat, half knocking over Sour Cream’s stuff in her urgency.

The living room had shifted since they returned. Connie and Steven were sitting next to each other, mumbling quietly on the floor next to her still-wrapped gift. Amethyst was laying across Pearl’s lap on the couch, and Garnet sat next to them both. Greg had begun to pick up some of the discarded bags and tissue paper, moving it in troves towards the kitchen to be properly disposed of. Onion was… inside the fireplace, and Andy was quietly thankful Barb had declined his suggestion to actually light the central display. He had been warned by more than three people individually not to let the young boy near fire, and he really did not want to know why.

With a groan, he sat down in front of the mantle (a bit weary to have the pyromaniac child to his back, but what choice did he have?) cross-legged and smiled at the room.

“We’re great. Now, who wants to do presents? Would Ms. Maheshwaran do us the honors?” He lifted a hand in her general direction, which gave rise to a warm color across her face as the attention shifted quickly to her.

Barb was about to sit as well when they heard the backdoor snap open, the candles and tinsel jostling slightly when an icy breeze filled the room.

A disembodied voice called from the back of the home. “Mom? Can I… talk to you?”

Eyes wide, the woman looked down at Andy who gave her a confident nod and grin. 

“Go get her. I got this.”

She grinned, eyes crinkling in the corners in her sincerity, and swept through the dining room after her daughter

 


	8. The Justice Friends 2: Holiday Special

After a slightly awkward lull in the living room, Andy cleared his throat and prompt Connie for the third and final time to open her gift.

Steven was sitting beside her, and the change in dynamic in the room caused him to readjust swiftly. He curled himself into a ball, hugging his knees to his chest with wide eyes as he listened to each cymbal-crash of paper, jostling as Connie situated it properly in front of her.

He all but stopped breathing when the first real tear began, deafening as snowmen were ripped apart to reveal the first corners of his cardboard puzzle within.

The more gifts that had been unveiled through the night, the more nervous Steven had grown, the balancing scales of excitement and anxiety constantly in flux up until this point. Everyone else had selected...relatively conventional gifts, all impressive and thoughtful in their own way. Steven had gone a little outside the norm, and suddenly it felt like he was on Trial for the Shattering of Holiday Traditions.

Connie’s reaction into the silent room was not particularly reassuring “It’s… it’s Sergeant USA? W-wow. From those  _ Justice Friends  _ movies? Er, wait, no… they’re… they’re all here.”

One by one she extracted the hodgepodge collection of the store display he had selected, revealing all of the  _ Justice Friends _ and their crime-fighting awesomeness.

She had a confused smile on her face and looked around the room, eyes ultimately befalling Steven as he rocked back and forth.

“T-Thank you! Whoever picked these out. They’re… nice. Umm…”

Steven couldn’t wait any longer, absolutely bursting into his explanation at rapid-fire. “It was me! I did it! I hope you don’t think it’s too weird, Connie. I don’t even know if you like the  _ Justice Friends _ , but they didn’t have anything with  _ Dogcopter _ there. I picked this because the first time you really hung out with me, besides when I trapped you in my bubble, was when we went to the movies, and this reminded me of that. But then there’s also the fact that they’re all sort of superheroes, and I know we’re not like that - we’re even better! We’re The Crystal Gems! And… and you are too! I like that they’re all humans though with some sort of special powers - that’s like you. You’re smart and strong and an amazing swordfighter. You can do anything, like these guys, but you’re even better because you’re one person. You’re like all of the Justice Friends combined into one really amazing person.”

He finally came up for air, taking a huge breath into a room of stunned silence. Connie was starring at him like he had been speaking Russian, but her face was positively shining red. Most of the others were polite enough not to stare, Pearl suddenly guiding everyone’s attention to  _ how interesting  _ the tinsel suddenly appeared to be, though Steven met eyes with his Dad for a moment.

He gave him a very Dad-like thumbs up.

“S-Steven, I…” Connie started to say, but Steven was already tripping over his next explanation.

“Connie, I’m... so sorry about everything. I am really glad you came tonight, because I feel like I haven’t gotten to really spend time with you like this since everything happened. I know things are different after what I did, but we’re like the  _ Justice Friends  _ in that way, too. You’re like all of them wrapped up into one person, but even at their strongest, they are all best as a team. I should never have let things get to that point - it wasn’t fair to you, it wasn’t fair to Stevonnie, or Pearl or Garnet who worked so hard on our training. You were right about everything. And I’m - ”

“Steven, I love it. Thank you.” Connie cut him off by wrapping him into a fierce hug, catching him breathless in the moment.

It wasn’t the most comfortable hug in the world, given that they were both sitting on the ground and half-facing each other, but nothing could have made Steven feel better at that moment.

It was perfect.

“I’m… I’m glad, Connie,” he whispered as they pulled apart, both smiling. “And, I can’t believe I got the guy to sell it to me for less than $5! I can help you put it all back together, they sort of just have slots to stick together.”

“Actually, Steven, it wasn’t just $5 -- ” Pearl began to correct automatically, but Greg cut her off.

“Ooooooookay, that was great. Why don’t you pick a present next, Steven?”

By the time he selected the present, Sadie and her mother returned from the chill, both red in the face, and perhaps around their eyes too. Both women were smiling though, and there were a few kind words exchanged before the party resumed as usual.

Warmth, hugs, and love was exchanged in earnest that evening, and for at least one night in Beach City, there was peace.

**Author's Note:**

> A huge huge _huge_ thank you to Airam for organizing this! It was so much fun and I'm happy to have been a part of it!


End file.
